MixPre II recorders- 32bit float, internal TC generator, lotso dynamic range

puredrifting said:
The Zoom recorders seem like a better value than the Mix Pre IIs but I'm confident the SDs would work just as well for me. And I like the Kashmir pre-amps, they sound great to me. But my mind isn't yet made up.
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Personally, I don’t really care what things say on paper. I care how they feel, sound, and operate in the field. And I care about durability.

Having used both, the Sound Devices MixPre series feels, works, and sounds better overall. The legit analog limiters are worth the price difference over hybrid digital limiters. And the plasticky construction of the Zoom recorders just doesn’t scream “this will survive productions abuses” to me. Dual card slots would be nice, but all the other tradeoffs just don’t lead me down the Zoom path.

And yes, it’s much easier to market to producers with the Sound Devices name sitting in my bag. That question does come up for me.
 
Alex H. said:
Personally, I don’t really care what things say on paper. I care how they feel, sound, and operate in the field. And I care about durability.

Having used both, the Sound Devices MixPre series feels, works, and sounds better overall. The legit analog limiters are worth the price difference over hybrid digital limiters. And the plasticky construction of the Zoom recorders just doesn’t scream “this will survive productions abuses” to me. Dual card slots would be nice, but all the other tradeoffs just don’t lead me down the Zoom path.

And yes, it’s much easier to market to producers with the Sound Devices name sitting in my bag. That question does come up for me.
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As soon as I can scrape together the money, I will probably upgrade to either the Mix Pre 6 II or the Mix Pre 10 II. But have to see if I can generate some decently steady sound mixer work.
I'm known to my clients as a DP/Producer so have to figure out who to market to as a sound mixer and how to market the service. I don't need to buy a lot more gear to have enough for smaller,
less ambitious shoots and there is always rentals for the bigger stuff.
 
I find this twist kind of funny. So yes I have been on the production end where producers actually ask about your gear. Really stupid since they know nothing about sound, but names they know will help you get a gig. I fortunately worked almost exclusively in SFX and SFX recordists use whatever works. A lot had really weird rigs centering around Sony Walkman DATS at one point. But you are on your own and results are all that really counts. The other think I find "funny" is that Sound Devices came in as a SFX device company. Production folks wouldn't use them because they were "new" and untested. So the first thing they sold that a bunch of production folks used was the Shure FP24 (which was the SD MixPre rebranded). So now that they are considered part of the "establishment" cracks me up.

Zoom has a crappy rep that they earned. But the F series is MUCH better than the Zoom rep might lead you to believe. If folks are not looking into your bag an F4 or F8 is kind of a no brainer. The asterisk is 32bit float. The F6 is a really awkward size for a working professional. An F6 in a F8 sized package would be a big seller for SFX recordists and production recordists (that don't have folks peeking in their bags).

From a quality standpoint I am finding it hard to argue for the $$$ jobs. In a very apples to oranges moment I did use the MixPre as the front end for the F4 on some interviews. That may not have been necessary but I did like having the better metering and it sounded better. The last is with a BIG asterisk because it was different mics and a different setup. I didn't dislike the F4 pres, and I switched mics so I don't know if the biggest difference was the mics or the pres. I will do further tests and I was not trying to compare. I set up with a single hyper and then realized none of these people would have decent mic skills and changed to two cardioids so one would be on axis. So the slight thinness I felt with the F4 pres may well have been the mic and the speakers positions. Other than the slightly thinner sound I felt I got it was still super clean. And as I said the thin may have been mic or placement or a wrong setting. I have decades of experience with the MixPre and so when in doubt I went with what I knew worked. When I have some down time I will do some real comparisons, which if I was smart I would have done a few months ago!!!

Factoring into the choices. I would , if I were new, go for the F8 over the F4. The color display offers a lot more info than the F4 display. Or get an F4 and the fader unit if you are doing cart work.

As a add on the Power bank blocks work amazingly well. I got them for something else and realized they could power everything. So for about $30 (Amazon) they have powered the F4 and MixPre for about 12 hours of interviews and it's down to four (out of five) leds on its meter. This thing might go an entire film shoot! I have lithium batteries in the battery holders because 1) they don't drain hardly at all in storage and 2) they don't leak!
 
Scott- the Zooms do indeed sound thinner compared to the SD's. Here's the EQ difference I measured (EQ to match the F4 to the MP6):

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You can EQ the Zooms similarly to match the SD sound.

In terms of noise etc., both brands are now so low noise, and especially with float-32, the deciding factor is more about usability/form-factor, power options, etc.

EDIT: note that the SD 7xx series is noted as sounding better than the SD MP series (I liked the USBPre2 sound (based on 7xx topology) better than the MP6 I). From https://www.gearslutz.com/board/high-end/1245013-sound-devices-702-vs-mixpre-3-a.html:

Brian Carter
Gear Head

Hey tomsmith,

I own a 744T and also the mixpre3.
To my ears the 744T sounds better and seems to be both cleaner with more perceived headroom. That's not saying that the Mixpre3 sounds bad. It has a slightly different sound that is fine.
I like the look and size of the MixPre3 but it has always been more of a pain to use remotely for me because it eats through batteries way faster than the 744T. The only battery option that I found that gave me long hours of use is a USB C external battery.
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sd270
Lives for gear

My friend uses a 788T, and also has the MixPre6 and he likes the sound better on the 788T and thinks the MP6 has a softer sound that he doesn't care for. I agree with him, the MP6 seems to be less neutral in tonal balance and somewhat rounded off in detail. I was considering getting one but now not interested.
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tomsmith
Here for the gear

I had a chance to try out the mixpre 3 and can confirm that the sound is not as great. I think I will just keep the 702.

The sound seemed a bit less full on the mixpre 3. I'm not sure what the proper terminology is...
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For dialog, I can see how some people might prefer the sound of the MP series (softer, rounded, less bright but fuller in the low mids); it's not a flat EQ for SFX/Foley/music. However once you realize it's just EQ...
 
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I probably need to rent an F8N and try it. The last shoot I worked on, the mixer was using an F4 and he felt it has some weird limitations (can't recall what exactly as I was shooting video at the time and concentrating but it sounded as if he wasn't thrilled with the F4 for some reason.) The F8N is obviously
a lot of bang for the buck so it should be considered. I dig the dual card recording and all of the I/O, but the contruction looks cheap. I'm sure the sound is great. Tough choice between the SD MP IIs and the F8N. I don't think I would get the F6 as the form factor is too boxy and cramped.
 
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Good idea re: renting the F8N, perhaps rent an MP II and try out float (or not, you may not want to record any other way afterwords and end up with an MP 10 II (just need to sell $400 worth of gear you're not using (price over the F8N))).
 
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